Since it was formally established in 2001, the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) has been a valuable resource for professional organizers and related professionals searching for ways to assist their chronically disorganized clients.

In addition to their annual conference (which will be held in Texas this September), NSGCD has an extensive offering of teleclasses throughout the year, and new programs are developed on a regular basis.

The following is a list of new teleclasses being offered in the coming months:

Wednesday, July 7th
Knowing Me, Knowing You – An Organizer’s Dream Come True
Steve Zanini

Wednesday, July 14th
Depression in the Elderly CD Client
Katherine Anderson, CPO-CD

Wednesday, July 21st
Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It.
Phyllis Flood Knerr, CPO-CD

Wednesday, July 28th
Motivational Interviewing
Dee-Dee Stout, MA, CADC II, MINT

Wednesday, August 4th
Listening for Professionals
Lisa M. Orick-Martinez, Ph.D.

Wednesday, August 11th
Updated Review on the NSGCD Clutter Hoarding Scale
Sheila Delson, CPO-CD

Wednesday, August 18th
Strategies for Success: Effective Communication Skills for Working with Students with ADD/ADHD
Jennifer McDaniel Wolfe, CPO-CD, CPO, NSGCD Master Trainer

Wednesday, September 1st
Advanced Hoarding
Mindy Godding, CPO

Wednesday, September 14th
Basic ADD
Denslow Brown, CPO-CD

Wednesday, September 15th
Should I Report This or Not? What Every Professional Organizer Needs to Know About Abuse, Neglect, and Other Potential Harms in the CD Household
Tiffany deSilva, MSW, LSW, CTACC

Wednesday, September 29th
Bipolar Disorder Session I
Julie A. Fast

There is no charge to register for the teleclasses, but you must be an NSGCD member (or “subscriber”) to participate. Membership is open to professional organizers who are already a member of NAPO, POC, or AAPO, or who can provide documentation verifying that they have been in business as a professional organizer for at least one year.

Visit the NSGCD website to download an application or to learn about the other subscriber benefits.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on New Classes on Chronic Disorganization.

There have been quite a few major events for professional organizers this fall, and since many of you can only spare the time and funds to attend one (or maybe not even that), I’ve recruited some special people to let you know what you’ve missed. We’ve already heard about the POAA and AAPO conferences, and today Janine Adams is here to tell us all about the recent NSGCD Conference.

I had the brain on my brain after attending the annual conference of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization in sunny Los Angeles, October 1 to 3. I’m a conference junkie (this was my fourth organizers’ conference in the past year) and NSGCD is always one of my favorites. This year’s conference did not disappoint.

One thing I love about the NSGCD conference is that it’s relatively small: there were 115 folks in attendance. That’s small enough to really get to know people. NSGCD subscribers are such smart, compassionate, fun people. From the very first one I attended, I always felt like I was among friends. Another bonus: The food at NSGCD conferences is always great (and plentiful). And the meals are included in the conference fee.

So why was the brain on my brain? Mostly because of the presentation called, “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life,” by renowned brain researcher, Daniel G. Amen, M.D. He spoke about keeping our brains young by avoiding certain behaviors (including smoking, drugs, excessive caffeine, sleep deprivation—he says that at least seven hours of sleep each night is essential) and embracing others (like a healthy diet, vitamins, fish oil, new learning, sex and exercise—he recommends table tennis). For me, the talk was enlightening and I gleaned information that will cause me to change some behaviors. And I’ve already spoken with some clients about what I learned from Dr. Amen.

But Dr. Amen wasn’t the only great speaker on the agenda. The two-day conference was full of them. In her lively presentation, Catherine “Ross” Roster, Ph.D., NSGCD Research Director, gave us an update on the association’s current research projects and encouraged NSGCD subscribers to get involved in two new projects: one with artist Corinne Botz, who will create art from objects of significance donated by people. The project, titled “The Secret Lives of Objects” can use the help of 20 to 25 NSGCD subscribers to identify clients who might wish to participate. The other project is to create a new Clutter Quality of Life Scale (CQLS), a self-assessment tool designed to measure the impact of clutter on an individual’s life and the consequences of clutter. Dr. Roster pointed out that the CQLS will be a great way for POs to engage clients in discussion of the impact of clutter, as well as quantify progress with their clients.  If you’re an NSGCD subscriber interested in participating in NSGCD research projects (you can earn service points!), email Catherine Roster at roster@mqt.unm.edu.

Also on the program was Tracey Greene Mintz, a social worker who, in a surprisingly entertaining presentation, advocated for the elderly in her talk on mitigating relocation stress syndrome in elderly clients. On the second day, Nancy Schlossberg, Ed.D., a vibrant 80-year-old and expert on change and transition gave two enlightening sessions on transitions. Because of a personal obligation, I had to take an early flight, so I missed Mark Odom’s talk on “Overcoming Resistance: Understanding and Engaging Reluctant Clients.” I was also sorry to miss the panel discussion on collaboration that ended the conference. In my opinion, one of the hallmarks of NSGCD is its reaching out to other disciplines to offer us different perspectives on our work. This particular panel included Tammy L. Chalmers, CFO of Crime Scene Steri-Clean, whose company specializes in clean-ups for hoarders; Marie K. Lee, Ph.D., a cognitive behavioral therapist; Margaret Riley, Neighborhood Improvement/Code Enforcement Manager for the City of Buena Park, California and the co-chair of the Orange County Task Force on Hoarding; Sheryl Vito, a Senior Social Worker with Orange County Adult Protective Services; and another social worker for older adults, with the City of Huntington Beach, Senior Services. To me, that’s an exciting panel. I truly wish I could have heard them, but I can always purchase CDs or DVDs of the conference sessions.

If you find yourself working with chronically disorganized clients and don’t feel equipped with the tools to make progress with them, I strongly recommend investing in NSGCD. The teleclasses throughout the year are great and the conferences truly rock. Mark your calendars now: Next year’s conference will be September 23 to 25 in Austin, Texas. Keep your eye on the conference page on the NSGCD website for more information as it becomes available.

Janine Adams, CPO®, CPO-CD® is owner of Peace of Mind Organizing in St. Louis, Missouri. Together with life coach Shannon Wilkinson, she’s the co-creator of the e-course Declutter Happy Hour. On Twitter, she’s @janinea.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on The NSGCD conference: Learning and networking and great food all rolled into one!.

Here it is once again – time for the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival! This monthly feature is a chance for you to share your best blog posts and learn from your colleagues in the organizing industry. We have a few new contributors this month, including a very special guest. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, so read on and enjoy!

Let’s begin with the 10 Best Reasons to Get Organized, in which Lelah Baker-Rabe shares some familiar and not-so-familiar reminders about how getting organized can improve your life.

Next, a few Organizing Products and Systems you may wish to recommend to your clients, or use yourself:

Jodi Granok has the solution for Fixing Our Food Storage Container Clutter in a photo essay, and Jeri Dansky answers a Reader Question: Organizing the Adult Toys.

Margaret Lukens describes Three everyday uses for mind-maps, and Jacki Hollywood Brown blogs about The King of Classification:

This Professional Organizer built an easy to understand, simple to apply, easily modified classification system for all life on Earth over 300 years ago!

The value of Professional Organizer Training, Certification and Credentials are discussed by Geralin Thomas in Working with Hoarders:  Training and Experience Highly Recommended and Janine Adams in Why training and credentials matter

Business Strategy is a topic that’s important to all of us, and Lisa Montanaro shares some great ideas in Time is on Your Side: 10 Ways to Reinvest in Your Business During a Slow Economy. Lisa says,

If business is slow for you, this may be the perfect time to do some of the business-building activities that you never have the time to do when you are too busy working in the business. This may also be a golden opportunity for professional development, reflection, and brainstorming.

Angela Esnouf states that:

To get change you need to make changes.  This holds true for our clients as much as it does for our businesses.

Read her post Different Actions Get Different Results for an example.

Since a carnival is all about having fun, we’ll close this one with Dave Gary‘s light-hearted way of presenting both sides of the organizing coin (at least through the eyes of one PO’s spouse) in Top 5 Reasons You Should Marry A Professional Organizer.

Thanks for stopping by, and a special thanks to everyone who contributed to this month’s Professional Organizers Blog Carnival! Be sure to read the above posts, leave some comments, and get to know one your organizing colleagues. If you didn’t participate, I do hope you’ll join us next time!

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Professional Organizers Blog Carnival – October 2009 Edition.

There’s lots of buzz right now about A&E’s new documentary series about real people whose compulsive hoarding is leading to serious problems in their everyday lives. If you didn’t catch the premiere on Monday night, be sure to visit the Hoarders website to see what you missed.

I found it heartbreaking to witness the challenges faced by the compulsive hoarders on the show, and by their families. At the same time, I admire them, not only for taking the huge step of making positive changes in their lives, but for exposing themselves to the world in order to educate others. I also have a great deal of admiration and respect for the professional organizers who work with these individuals.

You may never encounter a situation like those shown on Hoarders, but if you offer residential organizing, there’s a chance that you will. I predict that it’s even more likely now, because the show will help reduce the stigma associated with chronic disorganization, empowering viewers facing similar issues to take action.

You can prepare yourself by downloading a free copy of the Clutter Hoarding Scale developed by the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD). The Clutter Hoarding Scale is an assessment that may be used during your initial consultation to determine the degree of household clutter and hoarding, and the level of support needed. In many cases, the client will need to work with a professional organizer with specialized training in chronic disorganization.

If you are interested in this specialty, you should become a member of NSGCD. Before joining, you must first be a member of NAPO or POC, or provide documentation showing that you’ve been in business as a professional organizer for at least one year. NSGCD offers weekly teleclasses to help their members work towards various levels of certification.

In addition, NSGCD also holds an annual conference for organizers and other professionals who work with chronic disorganization clients. This year’s conference will take place from October 1 to 3 in Los Angeles, California. Registration fees go up after August 31, so if you’re thinking of attending, you should register as soon as possible.

If you’re not sure whether chronic disorganization is your thing, you may wish to explore the subject further before investing in membership or the conference. In this case, you’ll be pleased to know that NSGCD also offers a number of inexpensive publications which you may find of value.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Would You Like to Work with Hoarders?.